So You Think You Can Dance: Eyes on the Prize

These kids are fighting for one last chance to dance in the spotlight. In the first few seconds of the show, it was clear something was up. (Cue ominous music. The curse is back!) Ashleigh was missing from the opening. And as Cat said, “these are your top eight,” all I could think was…wrong. No, WRONG. But for some reason, a pain-staking 2 minutes goes by as Cat yaps on. Then she welcomes Ashleigh on to the stage to explain for herself what’s happened. While doing a lift, she dislocated her shoulder. Though she feels okay, the doctors won’t clear her to dance. Instantly, I know pretty, little Ashleigh will be in the bottom three even though we were still allowed to vote for her. I’m happy she at least gets the chance. It’s crazy how fast this season has flown by. America has the hard job of choosing between many deserving dancers, who have seldom failed at the diverse styles they’ve been confronted with each week. On to the dancing!

KATHRYN AND RYAN

A disco by Doriana Sanchez to “Last Dance” by Donna Summer (Samantha Ronson remix): So You Think You Can Dance has seen its share of ridiculously hard Doriana routines, and this wasn’t one of them. This doesn’t diminish the routine which was still fun and jazzy. These two, to me, weren’t as on fire as the judges thought. But they really looked like they were having fun. It was nicely performed, but I didn’t feel that extra oomph, and I expect more from these two. Thankfully, Nigel backed me up a tiny bit. He thought the style suited Kathryn, but Ryan was stiff. 8

A Cha-Cha from Jason Gilkison to “Put Your Hands On Me” by Joss Stone: This is the sizzle I needed to see. Ryan has drawn two ballroom styles so I know he should and will nail it. With Kathryn, I always expect greatness. Adam pegged it right, saying “Jason this is a huge night for you. That was one of the best ballroom routines that we’ve had on the show.” Jason, tonight, has created believable stories, put them to some great pop music and re-imagined the genre. It’s fantastic. And this pair smoldered with his help. 10

MOLLY AND JACOB

The Viennese waltz with Jason Gilkison to “Ordinary Day” by Vanessa Carlton: Jason is finally on the SYTYCD map. Adam wrapped it up nicely when he said, ‘I could have watched that for two hours.” I felt the same way, never wanting it to end. I would have never thought I would get so excited about this coupling, but these two came from out of nowhere. Their connection was so bright and free. Jacob didn’t outshine Mollee which should say volumes about how great her performance was. Plus, I’ve never had a waltz make me smile from ear to ear. 10

A Joey Dowling Broadway piece to “Easy Street” (Samantha Ronson Remix) from the TV soundtrack of Annie: I always love it when a little-seen choreographer creates something memorable. Nigel felt it was the perfect couple for the story and style. They’re both athletic and flexible. Jacob always brings a certain flair, and Molly discovered a sweet sass. Finding such a great blend of theatrics, poise and technical talent in a dancer isn’t typical. 9

ELLENORE AND LEGACY

A contemporary routine by Travis Wall to “Machine Gun by Portishead: This was another threesome I was stoked about, but instead of the usual romantic, Travis channeled a little “War of the Roses meets Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” Sometimes I forget this is an 8pm family friendly show. Parents have a lot of explaining to do when their kids start asking “Why is the Mommy trying to kill the Daddy?” It was a dangerous, stunt-like routine that was exciting and passionate and sexy. Nigel gave a nod to Travis, guessing that this could get him an Emmy nod. I concur, Mr. Lythgoe. 10

A hip-hop number by Nappy/Tabs to “People Are Strange” (District 78 remix) by The Doors: Unfortunately Nappy/Tabs is on a horrible streak. It makes sense that there would be an ebb and flow when it comes to art and creativity. They were trying something new and literally alien, and it just didn’t rub me the right way. Ellenore and Legacy both seemed uncomfortable and out of the groove of the piece. It was so out there that I was positive that it would seal both of their fates in the bottom four. 6

RUSSELL

A Shane Sparks hip-hop routine to “Too Much Booty 2” (Bobby J Remix) by Soundmaster T & Jah-Rista feat. Korveil: So Shane Sparks promised to give us “nothing less than the hood” and to turn Ashleigh into a “booty shaker.”  We only saw half that promise achieved, but Russell gave us exactly what Shane promised, and I liked it. He was dancing for his life. In terms of the routine, this is the Shane I remember, when I first fell in love with the show way back when. Hard-hitting, hot and dirty. While the judges could not stop opining about missing Ashleigh, they gave it up to Russell for always giving his all, performing and making us feel that he’s having a good time. 9

A Bollywood number by Nakul to “Spirit of Rangeela” from the Rangeela soundtrack: Mr. Shankman rambles a lot, but at least a lot of what he has to say is fantastic and on-point criticism. He called this number “pure dancing,” and it was. It was purely joyful, purely upbeat and purely historical. Place your fingers in the wrong position and you could offend an entire country! But Russell did quite the opposite with his performance; hopefully, he made all the Indians watching proud because he certainly made the judges proud. 9

THIRTY SECONDS TO SHINE
The solos were a little Twilight Zone tonight. Russell dressed up in a Santa costume and reminded us that sometimes you just have to let go and have fun. I didn’t even believe that Kathryn or Jacob could get any better. That was false. Ellenore scared me a bit because even though when she dances she often makes the prettiest and coolest pictures, sometimes weird scares people. Mollee did a lot of the same flips and tricks but did them well. I was a little disappointed this week that Legacy focused more on theatrics than his choreography. There were more exciting b-boy moves in his non-b-boy routines than his solo. And Ashleigh had to be awkwardly paraded on stage again. Poor, girl.

THE RESULTS
Based on my scores, Ellenore, Legacy, Ashleigh and either Russell or Ryan should be in the bottom. My money would be on Russell to sail through just because he’s a fan and judge favorite, and he truly does epitomize what the show is about. It’s centered on dancers learning new styles and growing technically and as performers. It’s about creating a well-rounded dancer that America falls in love with. Two checks! It’s at this point that I realized how difficult results night would be. You’d think it’d be easier since this season has a six person finale, but it’s not.

We opened up the evening with a wonderful Sonya jazz routine. Then, Asia’s #1 pop group The Wonder Girls performed “Nobody.” I’m not knocking them because they were polished, somehow managed to share the spotlight equally between five girls and pulled off a believable lip-sync. And I’m all for undiscovered pop transports, but this is the episode before the finale, and they couldn’t get anyone more exciting, bigger or just recognizable? The song contained about 15 words and an extremely catchy hook, the worst combination. I still can’t get the darn song out of my head, and I feel like I was just a victim of some subliminal messaging.

Now, the Kris Allen performance I can understand. Sure his album isn’t that hot, and his American Idol runner-up got the top billing with next week’s finale performance (ouch!), but it’s good cross-promotion for Idol and a good chance to force-feed us their newest product. (I’m gobbling it up, by the way. He’s still adorable.)

I know you’re all biting your nails, so I won’t hold off anymore. The four in the bottom are Ryan, Legacy, Ellenore and Molly. I’m shocked that Ashleigh didn’t have to dance for her life. Her husband’s impassioned and teary plea must have really gotten viewers to rally behind her, but unfortunately it also might have taken some votes away that would have gone to someone else.

They all soloed well, but at this point it doesn’t matter because the choice has already been made. I just wished and hoped that it was Ellenore and Legacy saved. Ellenore’s in and so is….Ryan! Unfortunately, my genie decided to take an early lunch break and only saved one of my favorites. Wow! Legacy is definitely one of the most improved dancers of the season, and I’m sad to see him go. Mollee really did find her stride after Nathan’s ouster, but it was too little, too late.

WRAP IT UP
So what do you guys think about the top six, and who do you want to see win? Last chance to hit the comments section before our season six winner is crowned. I think it’s a battle between Jakob, Russell and Kathryn, and really it’s Jakob’s to lose. The man has not made one wrong move the whole season. Either way with those choices, no one’s really a loser. Right?

For another opinion on this episode, check out The Good, The Bad, and The Sappy by Trisha Huntsman.

Season 6, Episodes 21 & 22:  The Top 8 Perform & Two of 8 Voted Off (originally aired December 8 & 9, 2009)

For more on So You Think You Can Dance, click here.

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Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro